We had 65 members present at
our regular meeting of Carpenters Local 247. Daniel Stewart was present and
accepted his Journeyman certificate, as he recently completed his
Apprenticeship.
Under Reports of Sickness, we heard of B.J.
Cumming’s recent complication involving a brain tumor and John Barlow’s
recovery from a heart attack.
Executive Secretary Doug Tweedy was in
attendance, and he reported on council hiring, Health & Welfare mergers, and
organizing plans. Trustee Bob Hanson reported that our Pension Trust had
paid any unfunded liability and will now concentrate on improving benefits.
He also gave an update on Early Retiree Medical benefits. Organizing
Director Ben Embree told us about an upcoming Tenant Improvement Plan to
organize, DWA tradeshow issues, and picketing plans. Retired Financial
Secretary Leo Larson reported that the Retirees got a special tour of our
new training center. They were impressed with the building. Fair Contracting
Director Dick Springer gave us an overview of last year’s activities. Fair
Contracting helped recover over $2 million in unpaid wages and/or benefits.
It was announced that we will send Christie Kern and Mary Hogan to the
upcoming Sisters in the Brotherhood conference. Our financial report showed
a big plus for January, primarily from members paying dues annually.
Under Good of the Order, Miles Bond (1715)
made an appeal for support on manning a booth at the Clark County Fair.
Several other ideas were discussed for improving the Union and Out-of-Work
list.
Under New Business, motions were passed
supporting the Clark County Fair, Unions for Kids Fundraiser, and the May
Day coalition.
As per usual, this report only gives the
highlights of the meeting. For more comprehensive info … attend your Union
meeting.
[Ed. note: This is one member’s opinion; this
forum is open for you to share your opinion as well.]
Once, a couple of years ago, I worked for a year
and a half steady on the same job site. Prior to that, three to six months was
the average length of a job. In the past couple of years the work seems to last
a month to three months. Then it’s on the unemployment dole again for anywhere
from a week to several months. The trouble is: One to three months of work don’t
get me caught up on the bills that I incurred while on unemployment. It’s a boom
and bust lifestyle that has me, and many like me, living on the edge of disaster
and ruin.
There are a couple of systemic causes inherent in
our Northwest Union structure that fosters this kind of workplace insecurity.
For one, there is a real lack of organizing of new
contractors. Now, if they are organizing new contractors, they are keeping it a
secret. It seems our leadership is content at the moment to organize new
individual members who then come in to a tight job market and compete with those
already on the out-of-work list. All too often what happens is a new union
member gets hired hours or days after joining the union while there are over 300
longtime seasoned hands on the out-of-work list, and have been there for weeks
or months. Many times these guys go from job site to job site ‘til they get a
contractor who’ll commit to hire them, completely bypassing the out-of-work
membership list and the many dues-paying Carpenter members anxiously seeking a
job. There is something grossly unfair about this kind of organizational
structure.
Here we come to the second systemic problem, the
out-of-work list. The out-of-work list is a damn joke! Worse than a joke, it is
a failed concept! I can count the times I have been called off that list to go
to work in the past nine years on one hand and still have several fingers left
over. In order for a just and equitable system that benefits all Carpenters to
function, the list needs to work as a central tool by which all Carpenters are
dispatched to jobs. No more soliciting our work from job site to job site.
Therefore when Joe/Josephine Citizen joins our Brotherhood, he/she will have to
wait their turn just like every other Carpenter on the list. When every
contractor has to call for hands from the list, the list will actually move and
thus the system will be more equitable. I am not saying that making the list the
only way to get called to work as opposed to job site solicitations is going to
solve the insecurity problems inherent in our trade, but it would go a long way
in creating a system based on fairness. As it is now, it only benefits the
contractors who can hire anybody off the street and have him or her join the
union and compete with us for jobs.
Changing how the out-of-work list functions is
only part of the solution to creating a more just and secure work situation in
the Pacific Northwest. Organizing more contractors is another important factor
in this equation. We have new leadership and they keep telling us they have a
plan for organizing more contractors and carpenters. They are in the process of
hiring more organizers and business reps. right now. From my perspective, I feel
they are too narrowly focused. If you talk about organizing any workers or
contractors outside of the downtown T &I or heavy highway they say we don’t have
the resources and the people.
There are a lot of other workers who fit the trade
show category, such as the warehousing, distribution, office install, and moving
industry. Organizing workers in these fields could keep the trade show people
working full time in their own backyard. Many of them travel back and forth to
Seattle and even New York to maintain full time employment, or as close to full
time as possible.
There are a lot of questions about our new
leadership’s organizing plan that need to be answered. Like why focus on
downtown T & I or heavy highway? How many new contractors have been organized in
the past two years, and how many have folded, closed down, or dropped the union?
How many new members have joined, and how many old hands have left the union
altogether? What are the organizing goals? Where does the plan come from and
what model is it based. By that I mean is there an organizational plan that
worked in LA or New York and is being adopted here?
The problem with adopting an organizational plan from another region or city is
what works in LA, may not work in Portland. Then again it just might work. The
proof is in the fruits of our labor. Trouble is this may take months or years to
manifest any results form this organizing campaign. Unfortunately, until we as a
union obtain a significant gain in the markets share of carpentry work,
insecurity will remain a major concern to many carpenters in the Portland Metro
area.
For the short term, the best solution is to change
the out of work list so that it actually works for the benefit of every
carpenter. Changing it will be hard because good or bad the system has become a
part of our work culture. Cultural change is the hardest kind of change to
implement, or to get use to.
I for one as a delegate and activist in the UBC will do my best to change the
out of work system so that it benefits all carpenters equally.
I seek backing and support from all concerned
members of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters. Contact me at
unionhammerhead@yahoo.com or
leave messages at local 247 and I’ll do my best to return any phone calls.
At the general March membership meeting, members
will elect four members to attend the 39th General Convention of the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, which will be held at
Paris-Bally’s Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention will begin on
Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 at 10 a.m. and will continue in session from day to day
until the business coming before the Convention has been completed. This meeting
will be held in conjunction with the Regular Membership Meeting at Carpenters
Local 247 in the Upper Hall. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
Any member who is taking advantage of reduced
quarterly dues must have their 2nd quarter dues payment into the office no later
than March 30, 2005. The 2nd quarter payment will pay for your dues for the
months of April, May and June. If you are currently not taking advantage of this
option and wish to do so, please send your payment into the office before the
due date. However, you must have your dues paid through March in order to take
advantage of this discount. The reduced rates are as follows: Journeyman -
$72.00, Apprentice - $42.00, Tradeshow - $48.00.
We are looking for members to volunteer their time
and skills for one day! On Saturday, April 23, 2005, we will be assisting
individuals in our community with various home repairs through Rebuilding
Together with Christmas in April.
Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April is the
leading local volunteer organization that, in partnership with the community,
rehabilitates the homes of low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly,
disabled, and families with children so that they can continue to live in
warmth, safety, and independence.
If you are interested, please contact the office
and Dawn or Sherrie will be happy to sign you up and send you the information to
complete. Thanks so much for your help!
We need your help, so please volunteer! Mark your
calendars for April 23!
